Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

Penn State Football: 6 Burning questions for Nittany Lions’ offseason

By Nick Kreiser

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 02: A view of the Penn State Nittany Lions student section before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium on October 2, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 02: A view of the Penn State Nittany Lions student section before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium on October 2, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Penn State Football, Jahan Dotson
Jahan Dotson #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions  (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

Question #6 – Where will the lettermen land at the next level?

Penn State Football will once again have good recognition at the NFL Draft in April, one year after both Micah Parsons and Odafe Oweh were selected in the first round.

This year, will Jahan Dotson, Arnold Ebiketie, or Jaquan Brisker sneak into the back end of the first round? Or will they have to wait until day two of the draft to learn where their new home will be?

Jesse Luketa had a great showing in the Senior Bowl that likely improved his draft stock. How much did that performance help? We’ll find out in April.

Brandon Smith did not have the production that fans had hoped for in 2021, but he is an elite athlete that checks all the boxes from a physical measurables standpoint. Does an NFL team see his potential and decide to take a chance on him in the middle rounds of the draft, or does he fall to the late rounds?

Rasheed Walker was one of the top offensive tackle prospects going into the season, but he underperformed for much of 2021. Will a team take a chance on Walker in hopes that the player that everyone thought he could be is still in there? If they do, he will be just the fifth offensive lineman drafted out of Penn State under James Franklin.

Derrick Tangelo, Ellis Brooks, and Tariq-Castro Fields will all likely be drafted at some point, though probably not until the later rounds. Where will they wind up?

The Nittany Lions could have at least eight or nine guys get drafted this spring, which would be a program record under James Franklin. The previous best mark is six players drafted in a single draft, which happened three times (2018, 2019, and 2021). It would also be the most since Penn State had 10 players selected in the 1996 draft.

Can Penn State Football threaten to match that mark this spring?

Home/Penn State Football